This isn’t a typical attorney blog. My hope and prayer, though, is that it will be an encouragement to some of those who read it.
Many committed believers in Christ aspire to do great things for God. I know I always have. What that means and the road to getting there, however, has taken a decidedly different path than I first imagined. I always viewed my law practice as secondary to God’s call on my life to preach. I’m not saying I don’t pour my heart into my work as a lawyer. Those who know me know that I do, and the four core principles of my practice (www.christianinjuryattorney.net) attest to this. What I’m saying is that I always viewed my law practice as something that would financially support my later ministry/calling to preach the Gospel. Things have changed. I now view my law practice as a ministry.
Let me explain how I got here and what I mean. A law practice is a business and every Christian business owner out there knows how time consuming and costly running a business is. You feel like you have little spare time and there’s the constant pressure to make money to cover business expenses. Thus, although you may genuinely want to minister to people through your business, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind and feel like you really can’t take the time to do so. I’ll never forget the day I decided to put God first in my practice no matter what. I remember saying to myself, “I’m turning my law practice into a ministry effective immediately.” I knew this meant viewing those who sought my counsel as His sheep, as opposed to just clients, for I believe true Christian ministry, first and foremost, involves taking care of the sheep. David illustrates this so well. When Samuel came to his house to anoint the next king of Israel, and one by one the Spirit of God showed him that none of David’s seven brothers qualified, the Bible says there remained one more “… the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” 1 Samuel 16:11. One chapter later David recounts how he “… was tending his father’s sheep [w]hen a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock” and how David went and found the lamb and rescued it from the mouth of the lion/bear. The New Testament refers to God’s people as sheep. Nothing in life is more important than people. Like David, God wants us to be faithful tending to the sheep he has placed in our spheres of influence right now (our family, friends, co-workers, employees, etc.). Only then will He entrust us with greater responsibility.
Two Scriptures became the cornerstone of my new ministry/law practice. The first was Matthew 6:33: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” If I put God’s business first, He would take care of my business. For example, if the Holy Spirit prompts me to witness to a potential client or visit a client in the hospital to pray for and encourage them and I do not have time to do so, I am to make time. This doesn’t make sense to the natural mind; it’s counterintuitive. How is one going to make money taking precious time from his/her business attending to someone’s spiritual needs? The reason it doesn’t make sense is because God’s kingdom operates differently than how things operate in this world (often the reverse of how things operate in the world). The second Scripture was Ephesians 6:7, 8: “With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord …”
Turning my practice into a ministry has been a tremendous blessing. There’s no better feeling or sense of accomplishment than when a client bursts into tears and says, “you have no idea what a blessing you’ve been to me and my family.”